paris or london with a child?
 

We have 5 days around Thanksgiving for a vacation. Would we be crazy to visit Paris or London for that short a time? What is the weather like that time of year? Our 8 year old boy will be with us....is there anything to interest him?

I've done both; let me ask...how old is the child? Do you speak French? Be sure to check Fodor's and other travel guides for the children's section; it is very helpful. There are also magazines re: travelling w/children and a book or 2 on travelling in Europe w/ children. Many of the French museums have children's programs, but only in French, so we skipped those. My daughter was 10 when we went to London-the zoo there is absolutely wonderful. I really dislike zoos, but this one was amazing and I would recommend it for any age. London is full of huge parks, most w/playgrounds. Windsor Castle made a nice day trip. There is a toy museum in London that was small but lovely. The planetarium was very loud but very interesting-we weren't interested in Madame Tussaud's next door but they do sell a combination ticket and I know that many older children love it(it sounded to gruesome to us!) <BR>When we went to Paris last summer my daughter was 12. Verseilles was a wonderful day trip. There are plenty of huge gardens, a little train to take you around the estate, and places to eat and play. Marie Antoinette's was like a play land. It was just enchanting. Foucoult's pendulum was a big hit for my daughter. So was a trip down the Seine in one of the tour boats. We went to Chartres, had a tour w/Malcolm Miller, and were awed. The subways in both cities were favorites w/my daughter. We leave for Dublin in a couple of days and she's sorry that we won't have a subway there. There was a carnival set up in the Tuilleries that looked like fun. We had a much better time in Paris than London but I think that her age had a great deal to do with that. Good luck!

Sorry-I'm so new at this that I didn't see the details of your posting. If you go in Nov. there won't be crowds, but short days that would probably be cold and wet. I forgot to say that Big Ben and Hyde Park were big favorites-imagine that!

Mary, <BR>We're going to be in London for that same week with our 8 year old daughter. We chose London for our first European trip because there is so much to see. Take a look at the listings below. They're chock full of great information. My posting "Great Britian in a Week" has gotten some great responses. <BR> <BR>(By the way, this forum is fantastic. These folks really love to travel and spread the wealth of info) <BR>

An 8 year old can be overwhelmed by the language issue. If this is her first trip abroad, take her where everyone speaks the same language. I have a guide that is London in 3 days which I will be glad to send you the essence of, if you will e-mail me. <BR> <BR>Have fun!

Having just done London with all 3 of my kids (9,11,14) I can tell you their favorites were: Kensington Palace (my daughter just wanted to see where her favorite princess had lived-didn't even need to go in--the flowers and messages that still get left in the gate were very poignent), the science museum, the London transport museum (where they have simulators and the kids can become underground train drivers), the dress exhibit at the Victoria and Albert (my daughter again, who by the way is the 9-year-old), the Tower of London with Crown Jewels (rated totally awesome by all 3 and in November won't even be crowded) Queen Mary's dollhouse at Windsor castle (and don't forget they now have a Legoland in Windsor--didn't go to that one but went to the one in Denmark and the kids loved it), Hambley's Toy Store (world's largest), and the Tower Bridge (for the sake of the boys we had to hang around for an hour to see the bridge go up--check with the guy at the ticket booth to see if there are any scheduled bridge-openings that day). <BR>Anyway, those were the top-rated sights by my three kids. I would second the recommendation to try London first. Travel with kids can be exhausting and trying to cope with a foreign language just seems to fry your brain just that much more. It's hard enough to find something your kid will eat even in English, and when you can't read the menus and have to get someone to explain it to you so you can explain it to the kid, it gets tiring.

putting you back at the top next to the other inquiry.